


Dawn of an Era

by IndigoBloom



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-07-23 14:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16160735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoBloom/pseuds/IndigoBloom
Summary: After the androids of Detroit are freed, not all humans choose to leave. Some choose to stay because some androids have become like family, some have to stay because of disabilities or anything else of the like, while others...others find it hard to move on. At the dawn of this new era, an era of androids, the city of Detroit has to sort itself out before helping any other city's androids to freedom.





	1. Salvaged

**Author's Note:**

> Being an android is hard enough, but being half of a deviated android trying to crawl out of the trash-heap to freedom? Well, that's where our story begins...

I open my eyes, but still see black. I try to take a deep breath in, but all I can manage is a short gasp and a strange, strangled, wheezing sound. The world slowly comes into focus just enough for me to see that I'm nowhere good.

I try to push myself forward to stand, but...I can't feel either of my legs. Or my left arm, for that matter.

The world comes into sharper focus, and I now see that I'm in the landfill at the edge of Detroit.

I try to look up, but something is keeping my head in place. I then try to pull it forward instead, and I dislodge my head from the trash pile, only to have something fall onto my shoulders. Using my head, I try to lean all of my weight forward, when I realize I can still feel my right arm.

I try to wiggle my fingers, and I successfully move some refuse from in front of my hand. I then try to pull my entire hand forward, and I make a hole in the side of the trash pile with my hand. I turn my head sideways to look at my hand, and I slowly flex my fingers. Then, using the weight of my upper body, and some momentum from my arm, I try to dislodge my right shoulder. The rest of my body must not have been stuck in the pile too well, because I fall out of the heap and land, face first, in a puddle of oil, water, hydraulic fluid and Thirium 310, or Blue Blood.

Now on the ground, I pull my head up, and rest my chin on the ground. I pull my right arm up, and I put it under my shoulder. I push up, and manage to flip myself onto my back. I look at myself, and see that where there used to be a left arm and two legs are now just stumps and wires. My nurses uniform is smudged with Blue Blood, oil, and mud, and there is a large tear going up the side.

"You check that way," I can hear someone, a man, up on the road say, "And remember; the fresher the spare parts, the better. I know it seems cruel, but we're all in need,"

"But, M-" another man tries to say, but the first interrupts him.

"No 'buts'," he says, "It's going to rain, so let's get this done quickly,"

"Why?" the second says, "Rain doesn't bother androids."

"I know," the first says, "but it makes mud slick, and slopes dangerous. You don't want to fall into the landfill. You may not be able to get back up,"

"Alright," the second says, "We'll go this way, and you go the other?"

"That's what I was thinking," the first says, and then there were sounds of crunching gravel, like they started to walk away. It also sounds like there may be more that just two of them.

I try to call out to them, and my mouth and tongue make the right movements, but I can't make any noise. I think my vocal unit is down. I decide it would be more in my favor to go find them.

I turn myself back over onto my stomach, and turn myself toward the enormous pile of dead and decaying androids in front of me. Using my right arm, I start to pull myself up the wall of death. Some androids that aren't entirely dead help me up the wall, until I reach my hand up and around the top of the pile, and feel rough pavement under my palm. I claw the ground, trying to get some form of traction to pull myself up with, when someone from up on the road grabs my arm.

"Markus!" he yells, trying to get someone else's attention, "Markus!". It's the second man from before.

"Here," another man says, "I'll help, Connor,"

This other man has a more gruff kind of voice. He grabs my shoulders, and helps this Connor person pull me up onto the road.

They lay me flat on my stomach, and I push myself up with my right arm. I turn myself around to face the men who helped me. I see a younger looking man, maybe twenties, maybe thirties, but then I notice the blue LED on his right temple. So he's an android too. His dark hair is neatly styled, and his eyes are a very dark brown. He's wearing a dark leather jacket, a white shirt, and a blue scarf with dark blue jeans and black shoes. He's staring at me, a look of combined confusion, amazement and worry on his face.

The other man is wearing a dark brown leather jacket, a strangely patterned button-down shirt with a black shirt under that, and a pair of blue jeans with work boots. His hair and beard are both unkempt and grey. His hair reaches just below his ears, but his beard is kept short. He's looking at me like I'm a zombie that just crawled out of a grave. I'm fairly sure that he's human. He can't be a deviant. He holds himself like a human.

I turn from the grey-haired one, and stare the android in the eyes. I focus on what I want to portray, and I mouth the words "Help me," very slowly.

The android cocks his head to the left slightly and blinks twice, then furrows his brows.

I pull my arm from underneath me, lay on my chest, and write "Help me," in the dirt, but in a way that he can read it.

Rain starts to fall around us, landing on my back, on my head, and already making mud around me.

The android takes a step closer to me, and reads my message. He takes a sharp breath, and kneels down in front of me. He grabs my right arm, and puts it around his shoulders. He picks me up like that, my arm around his shoulders, his left arm around my back, holding onto my left shoulder.

"Lieutenant," the android says, "Could you please get Markus and tell him what we found,"

"I...uh...Wha-...er...sure," Lieutenant says, "And...you know that you can call me Hank, right?"

"I am aware," the android says, taking me to a truck nearby, "It's just...habit,"

Lieutenant laughs slightly, and walks away.

The android opens the back of the truck, which already seems to have spare android parts in it, and places me on a bench near the cab.

"I'm going to try to repair you," he says to me, "but I need to know the damage. If you're comfortable with it..."

He puts out his left hand, and the skin dissipates, showing the white mech beneath.

I focus, and with a lot of effort, I make my right hand do the same, and I place it in his hand.

After just a few seconds, he nods and lets go of my hand. The skin on both of our hands return, and he stands up.

"You need a new vocal unit," he says, "a new left arm, a new pair of legs, and your Thirium pump seems to be on it's last legs. I would say it was fortunate that we found you, seeing as we're already carrying spare parts. Now, lets see..."

He searches around in some crates for a second, and pulls out something that looks like a small box with wires coming out of either end.

"This should work," he says, "It's from the same make and model. Let's try, shall we?"

He sits me up, and removes my old, broken vocal unit, and replaces it with the new one he found.

"Try saying something," he says, "My name is Connor. Try saying that. Connor,"

I focus for a second, and I manage the first syllable.

"Con-" I say, filled with static.

"Hmm..." Connor says, and he places two fingers on my LED, focusing, probably trying to adjust something.

"Try again," he says.

"Conn-err," I manage, "Conno-r. Connor,"

"There you go," he says, smiling slightly, "Now, can you tell me your name."

"A-Aar-Aaron," I stutter, "M-my name is Aaron,"

"Good," Connor says, "Now, I'm going to replace your arm and legs first, alright, Aaron?"

I nod as he lays me back down. I can't help but like how my name sounds when he says it.

"Connor?" another voice calls from outside the truck. It's the first voice from before.

"I'm in here, Markus," Connor says, searching for a leg.

Another person enters the truck. I can tell by the way he holds himself that he's an android as well, but what's confusing is that his LED is missing. He has darker skin than Connor, but not extremely dark. He has extremely short, dark hair, and one green, one blue eye. He's wearing a light grey coat over a regular white shirt, black jeans, and boots. He stares at me for a second with an almost pained expression on his face, and walks over to me. He kneels next to the bench.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Aaron," I say.

"Hello, Aaron," he says, "I'm Markus. We're going to help you,"

He stands back up, and walks out of the truck.

I turn my head to the side as he walks away, and I see another android torso on the other bench on the opposite side of the truck. The android has blonde hair, and he looks like he has been defunct for a while.

"Who's that?" I say, quietly.

Connor looks over at him, and a look of what I can only call grief or guilt flashes across his face.

"His name is Simon," Connor says, walking over to me with a left arm, "and I'm working on fixing him as well,"

I nod, and turn my head so I'm looking straight up again.

Connor attaches the arm, and works on helping me get feeling in it and move it.

"Is that better?" he asks after adjusting the reflex time on it.

"Yes," I say, flexing my fingers, "That's much better,"

The process goes on like this for a bit longer as he attaches both of the legs. Connor then has me stand up and walk around a bit, seeing if the legs work well for me.

"They look fine," Connor says, stoping in front of me after pacing around me, "All I need to do now is replace your Thirium pump. I'll need to deactivate you in order to do that. Is that okay?"

I nod, and he sits me back down on the bench. He lays me on my back, and places two fingers on my LED.

"I'll reactivate you when I'm finished," he says, his voice fading out. The world goes black, and I cease to move.


	2. Career Adjustment...

When I'm reactivated, I find myself in an unfamiliar room. I sit up on the side of the bed, and take in my surroundings. It's just a normal home, nothing too extreme. I stand up, and start to walk to the door, when I see a mirror on the wall. I look at myself, straighten my bright ginger hair, and turn back toward the door. I notice that someone took my old uniform, and dressed me in a plain white T-shirt and a pair of boxer-shorts. I exit the room I'm in, and I hear some people talking in the room all the way to my right. I look that way to see a living room, and then Connor walks from the left side of the doorway into the middle of the room. I turn toward the room, and he looks in my direction, our eyes locking for a second.

"Aaron," he says, walking toward me, "I'm glad to see you functioning correctly,"

"Thank you Connor," I say, "And...I would like to thank you for saving me. I would have either been tossed back into the landfill or I would have just shut down if you weren't there. I probably wouldn't have even made it over the top of the pile if you weren't there,"

Connor just waves my thanks away. "There is no need to thank me," he says.

"Connor, stop being so damn humble and take the man's gratitude," a voice says from one of the couches in the living room, "He's right. You saved his life,"

I turn to see both Lieutenant and Markus sitting on the couch, looking at me.

"But, Lieutenant," Connor says, "It just seemed like the right thing to do, so it doesn't feel like I should receive gratitude for doing something anyone would do,"

"Why do you have to be difficult?" Lieutenant says.

Markus just shakes his head, and motions for me to sit across from him on another couch.

I sit down, and Connor sits to my right. I look from Markus, to Lieutenant, to Connor, and back to Markus. "I suppose you have some questions," I say.

"We do," Markus says, "Starting with your career before you were in the landfill,"

"I was a hospice android," I say, "But I was more than just that. I was made as an experimental android by Kamski, to see if he could combine the programming of the most advanced hospital and investigation androids,"

"So," Connor says, "You're a prototype?"

"That would be another way of saying it, yes," I reply.

"What do you mean, though?" Markus asks, "Connor was made for investigating, so he can analyze anything on site,"

"I can do that," I say, "And I have the knowledge to preform any type of surgery when needed, and also know how to perform an autopsy, if ever needed,"

"Wait," Lieutenant says, sounding disgusted, "By 'analyzing on site' you mean the thing with putting blood in your mouth?"

Both Connor and I nod and say "Yes, it's the quickest way,"

I glance over at him, and I'm greeted by his slight smile and dark eyes. I chuckle slightly, and look away, feeling a strange warm sensation in my chest.

"Wait," Connor says, "If you're a prototype, how did those old parts fit?"

"I'm made of a combination of different models," I say.

The room goes silent. Markus looks at me like he's trying to figure out a question to ask, but he can't quite find the words to say. Lieutenant is just staring at me, like I'm something in a museum. But it's what Connor does that surprises me. After a minute or two, he places his hand on my shoulder.

"You need a place to stay, I suppose?" he says, "You could stay here, with me and the L-...uh, Hank,"

I smile and nod. "Thank you," I say, "but I don't think that Hank- can I call you that?"

"Doesn't matter," Hank mumbles.

"Alright," I say, "But I think I'd be more useful elsewhere,"

"Well," Markus says, "There is another man in the city that may need a hospice android. He lives near the edge of the city, in a poorer part, but he still seemed to have enough money to buy two androids, even when he lost his job,"

I cock my head the side slightly to the right.

"Who?" I ask.

"His name is Todd Williams," Markus says, "I can write down his address for you,"

"What all is wrong with him?" I ask

"He's bipolar, and he is a constant Red Ice abuser," Connor says.

"You know of him?" I ask.

"Yes," he says, "Kara told Markus about him on one of her visits, and I was in the room at the time,"

I nod.

"So, he has a depression and drug problem?" I ask.

Both Markus and Connor nod.

"Easy," I say, "I'll go to his house today."

 I stand up an realize something. "I'm going to need to borrow some clothes, though," I say to Connor.

"Alright," he says, "I'll see what I can find," and he stands up, walking to the hall I came from.

Markus stands up as well, walks over to a table, grabs a piece of paper and a pencil, and writes something. He rips a tab of the paper off, and hands it to me. "This is his address," he says, "I advise taking the bus,"

I nod, and Connor comes back into the room, holding a stack of clothing and a pair of shoes. I take them from him, and look at what he gave me. A charcoal-grey sweater, white shirt, black pants and white socks. The shoes are black.

"Thank you," I say.

"The bathroom's at the end of the hall," Connor says, turning to the side and pointing to a door, "You can get dressed in there,"

I nod, and try my best at a smile. It apparently turned out well, because he slightly smiles back at me. I walk to the bathroom and get dressed. All of the clothing, including the shoes, fits perfectly. I stare at myself in the mirror for a minute, and I think to myself...I'm no longer a proper android. I'm a deviant, and I should expect things to change for me. I exit the bathroom, and walk back toward where Connor is standing.

When he sees me, his eyes widen slightly, and his eyebrows raise slightly. "That sweater looks good on you," he says, almost nervously.

I chuckle, and nod at him, somehow not being able to talk.

"I..I, uh need to catch the bus," I mutter, heading for the front door.

"See you later, then?" Connor says.

I just nod, and exit Hank's house. I walk to the curb, and turn, walking toward a bus-stop. I slap my palm against my forehead, and hold it there for a second.

"'I need to catch the bus'?" I chastise myself, "What was I doing? I can usually talk to people without being at a loss for words. What is it about Connor that makes my tongue not want to work correctly?"

I stand at the bus-stop for five minutes until a bus pulls up. It doesn't take long for me to get to the house I'm going to. I stand at the front gate to the house, taking in the details of the exterior. There are bags of garbage piled up on the front porch, and the house looks to be in a state of slight disrepair, but other than that, nothing seems to be wrong. I begin to take a step toward the house, when I hear someone walking up from behind me. I turn around, and I'm greeted by a woman with short, dirty-blonde hair, a tall, African American man, and a little girl, who's hiding between them.

"Uh...hi," the woman says, "Who are you?"

"My name's Aaron," I say, extending a hand.

"I'm Kara," the woman says, shaking my hand, "and this is Luther," she says, gesturing to the man, "and Alice," she says, putting a hand on the little girls shoulder.

I nod at Luther, and smile at Alice.

Luther nods back, and Alice slightly smiles back, still hiding behind Kara.

"Are you here to see Todd?" Kara asks.

"Yes," I say, "I am. I heard that he would be in need of...phycological assistance,"

Kara nods. "We came back from Canada to visit him during the holidays,"

I look at her confused. "Do androids even celebrate Christmas?" I ask.

"I don't think of it as 'the birth of Christ'," Kara says, "but more of just time to be happy you and your family made it one more year together,"

I think about that for a second, and nod, agreeing with her.

"And," Kara, "No one, not even Todd, shouldn't be alone during Christmas,"

I nod. "Were you his android," I ask, "before the...I don't want to call it a war, but..."

"Before the androids were free?" she asks, "Yes. I was his housekeeper, and Alice was posing as his daughter, since when his wife left him, she took his actual daughter with her,"

I furrow my brows, and nod. I turn back around, and start toward the front door, Kara, Luther, and Alice following me. I knock on the front door, and wait.

Five minutes pass, and no answer.

I knock again, and wait a bit more.

This time, ten minutes pass, with no answer.

I walk over to one of the windows, and I look through. "He left the TV on," I say, "But he's no where. It looks like he barely knows how to clean up after himself,"

"Yeah," Kara says, wiggling the door handle and finding that it's locked, "that was mainly my job."

I nod, and walk over to the other window, on the other side of the door. I look through, seeing a staircase. "Well," I say, "I see broken bottles, stains on the stairs, and...what's that?"

"What is it?" Kara asks, turning to me.

"It looks...metallic," I say, "and there's a dark stain underneath it. We need to get in there. This could be bad,"

"But the door's locked," Kara says, "How are we going to get in there?"

I walk up to the door, and move Kara lightly out of the way. I back up a step, look at Kara, and say "Don't tell Hank,".

She raises an eyebrow at me.

With one swift kick, the door falls down with a crash. I instantly go up the stairs, and stand a stair below the red stain. I pick up the little metallic thing, which is what I feared: a razor.

"Oh no," I mutter, "Please don't be what I think..."

I press my first and second fingers against the stain, and I find that what's making the stain is red. I quickly place one of my fingers on my tongue, and then I wipe my fingers off on a handkerchief.

"It's his," I say, and I notice that drips of blood lead down the hall, to an open door.

"That's the bathroom," Kara says, quietly.

"Kara, come with me," I say, "Luther, could you please take Alice downstairs?"

I start up the stairs, and follow the blood to the bathroom, and I find a man sitting on the ground, leaning against the bathtub, eyes closed.

Kara gasps, and tries to get into the bathroom, but I stop her.

"Let me," I say. I walk up to Todd, and kneel next to him. I find a pulse, which makes me feel slightly better. "He's alive," I say, "but he's in bad shape,". I see signs of him being intoxicated. He also has bandaging around both of his forearms, with red stains going all they way from his wrists to his elbows.

"What did he do?" Kara asks.

"I think he got drunk and tried to kill himself," I say, "but then realized how stupid that was, and tried to wrap up the cuts,"

Kara sighs again.

"Can you get me some warm water, clean rags, and iodine?" I say.

She nods, and walks downstairs.

I turn back to Todd, and grab his shoulder.

"Mr. Williams?" I say, shaking him, "Mr. Williams, wake up,"

He mutters something, and turns his head toward me. He slowly opens his eyes, still squinting at me.

"Who the hell are you?" he asks, quietly, "How the hell did you get into my house?"

"I'm Aaron, a hospice android," I say, "and, I apologize, but I kicked your front door down,"

He looks at me like he doesn't understand. "Why are you here?" he says, "I didn't ask for you,"

"I heard that I may be needed here," I say, "and I see that they were correct. You need help,"

He just makes a disgusted face. "All I need help with is dying. Unless you're here to kill me, I'd like you to leave,"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Williams," I say, helping him up, putting his arm around my shoulders, "I'd rather see you physically and mentally better than six feet under,"

"You barely know me," he says, "Why do you care so much?"

"It's just my personality," I say.

I take him to his room, and lay him on his bed. Kara comes in and hands me the things I asked for, and quickly leaves.

Todd looks at her, wide-eyed. "Does...Does that mean...Alice is here?" he says.

I nod. "You need rest, though," I say, "so you're going to have to stay here,"

He sighs, and nods.

I take his badaging off of his arms, and apply iodine.

He inhales sharply, but is quiet.

I then cut apart the rags, soak them in the warm water, and wrap them over the cuts in his arms.

"Why?" I ask him, "Why would you do this to yourself?"

"I ran out of Red Ice," he mutters, "So I bought beer and drank myself senseless. I then thought that the world would be better off without me, and no one would ever miss me, so...so I..."

I sigh.

"Todd," I say, "You need to think more of yourself,"

"How?" he says, "My wife left me, she took my daughter, I have nothing left,"

"You have Kara," I say, "And Alice,"

"They don't care," he says.

"They came all the way from Canada just to spend Christmas with you," I tell him, "I think they care about you,"

He furrows his brows. "Why, though? I was terrible to both of them,"

"What do you think?" I say, "You must have done  _something_ redeeming,"

He thinks for a second or two. "Well," he says, quietly, "I didn't rat them out at the Canadian border. I let them go...so they were happy,"

"See?" I say, "They've forgiven you for past actions, even slightly, and they want to give you a second chance. I say you take it, and try to get clean, okay?"

He sighs, and nods.

"I'll let you rest," I say, standing up.

"You need a place to stay?" Todd asks.

"I do," I say.

"You can stay here," he says, "Do androids sleep?"

"To conserve energy, sometimes," I say, "but usually, no,"

He nods. "Well, if you ever need to conserve energy," he says, "You can use the couch,"

I nod, and walk out of his room, closing the door behind me. I walk downstairs, and I find it much cleaner than before.

Kara is in the kitchen washing dishes, I can see Luther fixing the front door, and Alice is sitting at the table talking with, surprisingly, Connor.

"Connor?" I ask, "What are you doing here?"

"Kara contacted me," he says, "She said that something had happened with Todd, but you had it under control. I came over just to make sure everything was alright,"

"Well," I say, sitting at the table with him and Alice, "You have nothing to worry about. He's upstairs resting. He nearly drank himself to death, and then tried to..." I glance at Alice, "leave this world,"

Connor sighs, and then nods. "Do you think you can handle living here?" he asks, looking worried, and leaning toward me, his hand an inch or so away from mine.

"I think I can manage," I say, "He just needs someone to talk to. He's been alone for too long,"

Connor nods, and he, Alice and I talk about the difference between American and Canadian culture for a while.


	3. A Special Day...

I've been living with Todd for about a week or so now, and I've become good friends with him, Kara, Luther, Connor, Markus, Hank, and Markus' friend, Carl. I like visiting him sometimes to talk about how confusing life is. I've become more human like, since I've been deviant for about a week and a half.

Alice and I have become close friends, her almost treating me like an older brother. She doesn't talk much, except to me, Connor, and of course Kara.

I work with Connor and Hank, as something of a detective, like Connor.

I'm sleeping on the couch, after a long night of chasing down a Red Ice drug ring. I'm half awake, when someone taps my shoulder. I wake with a start, and see Alice standing next to the couch, looking scared. "Is everything okay?" I ask her.

She shakes her head.

"A nightmare again?" I ask.

She nods.

I sit up on the couch, and she sits on the couch next to me.

"What happened in it?" I ask.

"Something really bad happened," she mutters, "Someone Markus knows...they died,"

I raise an eyebrow, trying to think of androids from Jericho.

"Was it North?" I ask

She shakes her head.

"Josh?" I ask.

She nods.

"Why didn't you go to Kara about this?" I ask, "Why did you come to me?"

"I didn't want to bother them," she says.

I sigh. I move closer to her, and hug her. She hugs me back, and I rub the back of her head.

"It was just a dream, Alice," I say, "Nothing more, nothing less,"

She nods.

I lay back down on the couch, still hugging her, and we fall back to sleep. We're probably asleep for another half hour, when sunlight coming through the front window shines on my face. I wake up, and see that Kara had just come down the stairs.

"Oh, good," she says, "Alice is with you. She wasn't in her bed when we woke up, and so we were worried,"

"It's okay," I say, "She just came down because she had a nightmare,"

Kara just nods, and looks out the front window. "It snowed last night," she says, "Someone's going to need to shovel the walkway,"

"I'll do it," I say.

"Don't worry about it," she says, "Luther, Todd and I will probably do it,"

I nod, and Alice starts to rouse.

"Morning, sleepyhead," I say to her, "Have any more nightmares?"

She rubs her eyes, and shakes her head.

"I've got an idea," Kara says, "How about you and Alice go for an outing today? It's snowy outside, so it will be more fun,"

"How about it, Alice?" I ask her as she stands up, and goes to Kara, giving her a "Good-Morning" hug, "We can go on an adventure,"

"That sounds fun," Alice says, "Can we visit Carl today?"

"I'll talk to Markus, to see how Carl's doing," I say, standing up, "If he's doing well, we'll visit him. If not...we'll see,"

Alice smiles, and runs off, going to her room.

"Remember your gloves and hat!" Kara calls after her.

"We don't get cold," I say.

"She does," Kara says, "Well, if that setting is turned on. It makes the children Androids more realistic. I think all androids have the setting, we just don't think to turn it on,"

I nod, and think for a second. I walk to the mirror, and place two fingers on my LED. I turn on the setting for temperature sensitivity, and suddenly, the room gets...chilly? Is that the word?

"Huh," I say, "So that's what cold is,"

"I tried that for one day," Kara says, "You know, feeling temperature. I didn't last long. Canada is cold in January,"

I chuckle, and go to the downstairs closet. I grab my black, wool coat that Connor gave me, and put it on. I grab a pair of Todd's gloves that are light grey.

"You'll need a hat as well," Kara says, "Ears get cold very fast,"

I nod at her again, and find a creme beanie in the closet. I put it on, and put the gloves on as well.

Alice comes down the stairs, wearing a puffy, green coat, and white gloves, hat, and scarf. She's wearing a pair of snow boots.

"I'm ready," she says, "Could we draw pictures to give to Carl, if we visit him?"

"Of course," I say, taking her hand, and opening the front door. As soon as I step onto the porch, it feels like I got slapped by water, but I don't feel wet, just...I don't know. This is probably what cold feels like.

"Let's go!" Alice says, smiling, pulling me forward, both of us trudging trough the snow to the sidewalk. We catch the bus, and it takes us to the center of Detroit. We get off the bus in front of a park. As we walk into the park, I contact Marcus.

 _Marcus,_ I say _, can you hear me?_

 _Yes,_ he says,  _how can I help you?_

 _Do you think Alice and I would be able to visit Carl today?_ I ask.

There's a long pause, and then he answers,  _That would make him very happy. Yes, you can._

 _Awesome,_ I say, smiling,  _Thank you._

"Hey Alice," I say, "Marcus says that Carl would be very happy if we visited,"

"Yay!" she says, "But could we have a snowball fight first? We're right at the park,"

"Sure," I say, and not even a second later, Alice runs away from me hiding behind a nearby bench, and I see her grabbing a handful of snow.

I try to hide behind a tree as fast as I can, when I feel something hit my chest. I look down at my coat, and a splat of snow is dripping down back onto the ground. I laugh, and grab a handful of snow. I hide behind a tree, and peek out from behind it, trying to see where Alice is.

She pokes her head out from behind her bench, and I throw the snowball at her, only to have it hit the bench. She squeals, and ducks back behind the bench, and then pops out from behind the bench, throwing a snowball at me. It hits me in the right eye, knocking me sideways. I wipe the snow out of my eye.

"You're a good shot!" I say.

"Thank you!" she says, coming around the side of the tree, and pelting me with snowballs.

I laugh, and put my hands up, retreating farther into the park. I trip over something, and land on my back in the snow.

Alice stopped throwing snowballs at me, so I gather as many snowballs as I can, just to be prepared. She walks toward me, holding and armful of snowballs, when I notice someone walking toward us from the entrance of the park. As they get closer, I notice that it's Connor. I laugh as an idea strikes me.

"Alice," I say, "Here comes Connor. Can we make a truce for a minute?"

She raises an eyebrow at me, but then a look of realization shows on her face. She hands me half of her snowballs, and we wait for Connor to get close enough.

When he reaches the bench Alice was hiding behind at first, I yell, "Connor got within twenty feet of us! He's part of it now!" and we both pelt him with snowballs. At first we catch him off-guard, hitting him with at least ten snowballs, but then after a bit, he manages to dodge most of them. He grabs a handful of snow, quickly forms it into a snowball, and hits me square in the chest.

I laugh and run away, but I curve behind a tree, grab an armful of snow, and I sneak up behind him. When I'm directly behind him, I dump the arm-load of snow on his head. He turns around quickly, and shakes his head to get the snow off. He backs up and throws a snowball at me, hitting me in the shoulder.

I throw a snowball at him, hitting him square in the forehead.

He looks panicked for a second, and stumbles backward. He then rubs the snow off of his forehead, and starts to nervously laugh, like he's trying to hide the fact that he looked panicked. He looks around, like he's trying to find something.

I quickly walk up to him, and push him, by his shoulders, into the snowdrift behind him. He looks at me, and grabs my wrists, pulling me down with him. He lands on his back in the snow, and I land on top of him. I catch myself with my hands, but my face is still half a foot from his.

He stares up at me, eyes wide, looking surprised, but then he smiles, and laughs slightly.

I freeze and my eyes are wide open, almost in fear. There's this weird aching kind of feeling in my chest as he laughs, and I can't help but smile with him. I grab a hand full of snow, and smash it all over his face. I then stand up, and help him up as he wipes the snow off of his face.

"Aaron," Alice says to me, "Do you think any stores nearby sell sleds?"

"Sleds?" I ask, "I'm sure they do. Do you want to go and find one?"

She nods.

"Alright then," I say, taking her hand, "Let's go find a sled,"

Connor takes her other hand, and we all walk out of the park.

\---

We bought a sled at a toy store, and we also bought a plethora of drawing supplies, and a backpack for Alice, so she can carry the drawing supplies. I'm now pulling Alice behind me on the sled, walking toward a hill in the park, Connor walking next to me.

I pull the sled up to the top of the hill, and turn it around, so it's ready to go down. "You know," I say to Alice, "You could have gotten off, to make it easier for me,"

"But you got it up here either way," she laughs, "I didn't  _need_ to,"

I laugh and roll my eyes. Connor laughs as well.

Alice sits at the front of the sled, and slides herself slightly forward. I sit behind her, wrapping my arms around her. Connor stays standing behind us, though.

"Come on, Connor," I say, "get on,"

He looks at me, reluctant, but then gives in. He walks up to the sled, and then sits behind me. I expect him just to grab my shoulders to hold on, but he reaches around and puts his hands under my knees instead.

My heart skips a beat, and then there is a strange, tightening, almost aching feeling in my chest. I look at his hand, and then take a deep breath.

"Let's go!" Alice yells, and she leans forward. We go down the hill, all of us yelling or screaming. We sled halfway across the park before we stop. When we do stop, we all start laughing. Alice leans back on me, which makes me lean back on Connor. I stop laughing for a second as I feel my back rest against his chest, but I continue laughing, to not seem suspicious.

We sled down the hill a couple more times, and then we find a nearby cafe to draw in.

Alice had already started to draw her, Kara, and Luther on one paper.

"Let's all make a picture together," I say, "And then we can all make pictures by ourself,"

"That sounds like a good idea," Alice says, "And that means you too, Connor,"

Connor smiles. "Alright," he says, "But drawing isn't my strongest skill,"

I lean over to Alice, and I draw Markus, and myself. I look over at Connor, and he's drawing him and Hank. "There," I say, "that's all of us,"

We sit at the cafe drawing for a while, and then we make our way to Carl's house. We park the sled out front, and Carl's nurse android answers the door.

"Do you think we could visit Carl?" I ask.

"Of course," The android says, "I think he would be glad to see you,"

I smile and nod, and the android leads us to Carl's room. "You have some visitors, Carl," they say.

Carl is sitting up in what looks like a hospital bed, reading a book. He looks at us, and his face brightens a bit.

"Alice!" he says, "How nice to see you! And Aaron, always a pleasure. Connor, good to see you,"

"Hi, Carl," Alice says, "We drew you some things,"

She walks up to Carl with a pile of papers, and sets them on the bed.

Carl picks them up, and looks through them. "These are good," he says, and then he chuckles, "I like this one of Markus and Josh yelling at each other. Oh, and this one of all of you is good too,". Then he pauses. "Who drew this really amazing portrait of you, Aaron?"

My heart stops for a second. I grab the picture from Carl, and look at it. It's an amazingly drawn picture of me drawing with Alice. It looks very realistic, and it makes me look more attractive than I think I usually look.

"Oh...I drew that," Connor says, "I...I didn't expect you to show Aaron,"

Carl chuckles. "You can keep that one, Aaron,"

I nod, and tuck it in Alice's backpack.

Alice looks from me to Connor, and then takes Connor's hand. "Let's go outside, Connor,"

Connor just looks from her to me, and he looks slightly confused as she drags him out of the room.

I sit down on the edge of Carl's bed and sigh.

"Want to talk about something?" he asks.

I put my face in my hands, and sigh, nodding. "Have you ever...I don't know, known a person that, whenever you try to talk to them, you can't even get a single syllable out? No matter what you try, it just...I don't know..."

"You fancy Connor, don't you?" Carl asks, "My advice: Just tell him. Inevitably, you'll feel better about it,"

I shake my head. "I can't," I say, "Whenever I even  _think_ about telling him, I want to just hide in the closet, never to be found again,"

"That's why they call it 'coming out of the closet', " Carl says, chuckling, "You just need to tell him,"

"But...What if he doesn't feel the same way?" I ask, "I would be devastated! I wouldn't be able to talk to him, even as a friend! I wouldn't even be able to talk to Hank!"

"Aaron," Carl says, "I wouldn't worry too much about him not feeling the same way. Did you see how he drew you, and how he reacted when I showed the picture to you? They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and, obviously, he thinks you're handsome,"

I sigh again. "But...How do I tell him?" I ask.

"You could just simply say, 'Connor, I like you a lot,'," Carl says, "or you could get romantic and describe to him how he makes you feel,"

I sigh, and nod. "I'll try my best to...to work up the courage to tell him," I say, "I'll tell him when we get home,"

Carl nods. "Sooner is better than later," he says, "but when you get home is good. Being at home will make you comfortable,"

I nod, and stand up. "Thank you," I say, "This was an...interesting conversation."

Carl chuckles, and waves to me as I walk out of the room.

I meet up with Connor and Alice out front, and we start to walk to the bus stop. All the while, I'm thinking about what to say to Connor to tell him how I feel.

\---

When we get back to Todd's house, the path to the front porch is shoveled, but there doesn't seem to be anyone home. All of the lights are off.

"That's weird," I say, "Shouldn't they be home?"

"They should," Connor says, "But, it's okay. Let's just go in,"

I nod, Alice walking behind me. Connor goes first, and we enter a dark house. When the door closes, we're left in the pitch dark. I pull Alice closer to myself, in case there's danger.

Then, all of a sudden, the lights turn on, and everyone is standing in the middle of the room. "Surprise!" They all yell. Kara is standing almost directly in front of me, both Todd and Hank are standing in a corner, Markus is by the kitchen doorway, and Luther is standing by the TV.

The room is decorated with streamers, balloons, and a large banner hanging across the ceiling. The banner says, "Happy Activation-Day, Aaron!".

Kara comes up to me, and hugs me. "You should see your face!" she laughs, "Even Alice was in on this,"

I stand at the door, awestruck, at a loss for words.

Alice walks from behind me, and throws confetti at me. She then goes over to a table, grabs a party hat, and hands it to me.

I slowly put it on my head, a smile slowly blossoming on my face. 

"You...You did this all...for  _me_?" I ask, sitting down on a couch.

"Of course, you dope," Todd says, laughing, "You are just about the greatest thing to happen to most of us. I'd probably be dead without you,"

"And," Hank says, "We all had a part to play,"

"Yeah," Alice says, "Connor and I were distractors,"

"Kara, Hank, Todd, Markus, and I all decorated," Luther says, "And got presents,"

"Speaking of," Kara says, "We should give them now. We actually have one for Marcus first,". Kara turns to Markus, and he looks extremely confused. She walks over to the stairs and loudly says, "You can come down now,".

I turn around and look over the back of the couch at the stairs.

As Kara walks away, another person walks down the stairs. I recognize them, and I can't help but laugh in amazement.

Simon stands at the bottom of the steps and smiles at Markus.

Markus looks like he doesn't know weather he wants laugh or cry. He puts a hand up to his mouth, eyes filling with tears, and then he wipes the tears away. He walks up to Simon, places his hands on Simon's shoulders, as if to test if he's really there, and then hugs Simon. "It is amazing to see you again, Simon," he says.

"It's great to see you too, Markus," Simon says, eyes watering.

Markus lets go of him, and just stands next to Simon, looking like he doesn't believe that this is happening.

I walk up to Simon, and extend a hand. "My name is Aaron," I say, "I was repaired by Connor as well,"

"It's good to meet you, properly," Simon says, "I was hiding in the kitchen when you left this morning,"

I laugh slightly. He seems like a rather nice person.

"And while you're up," Todd says, "We can give you our present, Aaron. Follow me,"

He walks past me, and up the stairs. I follow him, and he leads me to a room that I've never seen the inside of. It's been locked for the past week or so. As I approach the door, Todd somehow is behind me, and he covers my eyes with his hands.

"Okay," he says, and there's a sound of a door opening, "Walk forward three steps,"

I do as he says, and then stay in place.

"Okay," he says, "Ready?"

"I suppose?" I say.

He lifts his hands away, and I'm greeted by a bedroom. Almost everything in the room are either black, white, dark-blue, or electric blue. There's a half-queen bed on one side of the room, a large bookshelf full of books against the wall facing me, and a large desk on the wall opposite to the bed. In the back corner, there is a doorless closet, full of clothing that looks like what Connor owns.

"This is for you," Todd says, "We all helped. Hank helped me put the desk and the bookshelf together, Luther helped get the bed-frame and the mattress up here, Kara helped me make the bed, and Connor helped me get what clothing and books you like,"

I can't think of anything to say. "Th-..this..this is...for me?" I mutter, "You redecorated an entire room...just so I can have a room of my own?"

Todd starts to laugh. "Why are you so confused?" he asks, "You live here now, so you need a room. You can't just always sleep on the couch,"

I turn around, and I quickly hug him. "Thank you," I say, "No one has ever been this kind to me,". As I'm facing Todd, I see Connor staring at me, smiling. When he sees me looking at him, he quickly looks away from me.

"Connor?" I say, nervously.

He looks at me.

"Can you come here for a minute?" I ask, and I sit down on my bed.

Connor walks over to me, and sits down next to me. Todd and Hank are both standing at the door, staring at us.

I take a deep breath. "Connor," I say, "Have you ever known someone...and you can't stop thinking about them, no matter what you do? You can't form full sentences around them, and it seems like the entire world revolves around them? Well, at least, just your world..."

Connor, lightly chuckles, and quietly says, "Yeah. I do know someone like that,"

I sigh. "Connor, what I'm trying to say is...I like you. A lot. When ever I talk to you, I feel extremely happy, and whenever we're apart, my chest aches when I think of you. I...I want you to be a bigger part in my life, Connor,"

There's an awkward pause.

"Funny thing," Connor says, quietly, "I feel the exact same way about you,"

I look at him, my chest feeling like it's going to explode. "What?" I ask, quietly.

Connor grabs one of my hands, and holds it tightly. "I feel the exact same way about you, Aaron," he says, "I just didn't know how to tell you, and then you told me first. I've felt like that since I met you, but...I was confused. I've never been in love before, seeing as androids can't feel things like that. I...I like you, too. I like you a lot,"

I smile, and I find that I start to laugh. I can't stop laughing, I'm just so happy. I pull Connor closer to me, and I hug him. He's laughing too, and he hugs me tight. I see Todd standing by the door smiling at us, and Hank looks like he knew all along.

"We'll leave you two alone," Todd says, lightly shoving Hank down the hall, "You can stay the night if you want, Connor,"

Connor just nods, not letting go of me. It's as if he thinks the world will end if he stops hugging me.

I motion to Todd to close the door, and he smiles at me as he does. I place my left hand on the back of Connor's head, and my right hand on his back. I rest my chin on his shoulder, and close my eyes, feeling amazingly safe, being this close to him.

Connor has both of his hands on my back, his face buried into my neck. He leans closer to me, hugging me tighter.

We stay like this, until I lay down, pulling Connor on top of me. I fall asleep ten minutes later, content with my life.


	4. Betrayal...

It's been three days since Connor and I...became a couple, I suppose. Everyone has been so very happy for us, and I've started saving up money so Connor and I could get an apartment of our own.

Today, we're responding to an emergency call at a warehouse somewhere near Jericho. The android who called said that he was in trouble, sounding panicked, and then quickly hung up.

I'm walking up to the warehouse with Connor and Hank, all of us armed with guns. The warehouse is already surrounded by police cars, and the human and android officers are at mine and Connor's command. I have all of these lives to protect, the most important to me being Connor.

"I advise we stay quiet," I say to the small group of android officers that me and Connor will be leading in before Hank leads in a back-up group of human officers, "That way we'll be less liable to be noticed,"

Everyone nods.

"Should we go through the front, though?" Connor asks, "There should be a side door, or something,"

I nod. "Alright," I say, "we'll split up into three groups. One group will go through the front. One will go to the left, and enter that way, if possible. The last will go to the right, and enter that way,"

Everyone nods again.

I check my gun with shaking fingers. I was never one for violence, but Connor convinced me to have a gun to protect myself. I'm making sure it's loaded, and that it won't jam.

"Is everything okay?" Connor says to me, quietly, pulling me aside, "You seem...on edge,"

"I am," I reply, "I've just...never used a gun before,"

Connor nods. "Just...Don't think about it too much," he says, "I know that you're used to helping people, not hurting them,"

I just nod, and I split the officers into groups, me and Connor leading the one that will go through the front. I help Connor open the door, and we all walk in, quietly, taking in every detail that we can find to help us figure out what's happening. Then, something catches my eye. I stop Connor, and the group of officers, and point to the ground. It's a shadow. A shadow the exact shape of a human holding another at gunpoint. I motion to Connor for him and I only to go out into the open, and we quickly move at the same time, stepping forward and turning, pointing our guns up at the catwalk, where the person is.

"Drop you weapon," Connor says.

"Why?" the person, who I now notice is a woman, says, "What is earned through peace? Nothing! Countless lives are lost, just because Markus and the rest of Jericho is too  _cowardly_ to do anything!"

I focus on the person, and I see who's talking. It's North, one of the androids from Jericho. But…I'm confused…what is she thinking? "North?!" I call to her, "What…what are you doing?"

"What I should have done a long time ago!" she says, looking down at the person she has at gunpoint.

I look at the person, to see Josh with his hands tied behind his back, staring at me, terrified. He looks like he's been beaten as well, and he's noiselessly pleading for my help.

"Lieutenant," Connor says into a walkie-talkie, "Bring in the backup. We've found the perpetrator,"

North laughs. "I can kill Josh faster than they can run into the building," she says.

The other android officers are around the perimeter of the room, all of them with their guns trained on North. The human officers file in, training their guns on North as well. Then, the last person I would expect to be here, walks into the room.

"North!" Markus yells, his voice resounding through the empty warehouse, "Stand down this instant!"

"Why?" she yells, "You want to save your  _boyfriend_? Oh, wait, I'm confusing Josh with Simon again, aren't I?". She then laughs, like she made a hilarious joke.

I glance over at Markus, and he looks enraged. He stares at North with a look of rage, hate, and...what I can only describe as...feeling betrayed. "This is treason, North!" he yells, pointing at her, "We all agreed, when the Revolution started, that, no matter what, we would never turn to violence, especially on each other!"

"Screw your agreement!" North yells back, "Your agreements and peace marches get a lot of good androids killed! The humans don't care for us!"

While she was speaking, I quietly shuffled over to the stairs of the catwalk she's standing on. I know Josh sees me, but he stays quiet, hoping to be rescued. I reach the bottom stair, and stop.

"That why we don't fight them," Markus says, "if we fight them, they'll hate us, and then we'll never get the freedom we want,"

"Yes, we will," North says, "when all of the humans are dead,"

I take a sharp breath as a stair squeaks under my foot. I stop, and stare at North, waiting for her to notice that I'm there.

She apparently didn't hear me.

"That's mass genocide, North," Markus says, "Which is unacceptable,"

"Maybe to you," North says.

I stand at the edge of the cat walk, and level my gun at North. "To everyone in the room, actually," I say, "so..."

North turns to me, looking surprised. She steps in front of Josh, and kicks him onto his back. She points her gun at me, and smiles. "You shoot me," she says, "my friends will get rid of you,"

I glance around in the rafters of the building, and see multiple androids, fully clad in black, all with sniper rifles, all trained on me. I swallow, and look back at North, starring at her gun. "I'll take that chance," I say, stepping closer to her, "North, you are under arrest,"

"I haven't done anything," she says, "You've got nothing on me,"

I sigh. "True, but…we will have soon,". I put my gun down, and just stare at her.

She raises an eyebrow, and then laughs.

Suddenly, a gunshot rings out, and a bullet ricochets off of the front rail between me and North.

I look down to see Connor's gun trained on North. He looks extremely angry. "You hurt him, I kill you," he shouts, "That was your warning shot,"

North laughs, and puts her hand up. "I'll take that chance," she says, smiling at me. She drops her hand, and three gunshots ring out.

I'm knocked back, first by my left shoulder, then my right hip, then I'm pulled back by my stomach. Then, my head is knocked back to the right, making me stumble, and fall over the rail of the catwalk. I land on a pile of wooden crates.

"AARON!" I hear Connor yell.

I stand up, and try to brush my self off, but, my right leg won't hold my weight, and my left arm won't move. I can't see out of my right eye. I turn to Connor, and shuffle toward him. Suddenly, all of my systems stop for a second, making me seize up, and fall to my knees. I cough, and blue flecks spray out of my mouth.

Connor rushes up to me, and holds me by my shoulders. He's staring at my right eye, looking horrified. "You…you're losing too much thirium," he mutters, "we need to get you out of here, now,"

I cough slightly again. "I'm fine," I say, but then I look down at myself. There's dark blue patches growing on my clothing at my right hip, and on my stomach. There's another blue patch right where my thirium is, and then blue drips from my right eye. I put my hand where my eye should be, and I pull it away, covered in blue. I start to feel a strange, tightening feeling, as I start to shake, and my eye opens wide. I start to breath raggedly, and I look at Connor. Just moving my head makes me feel extremely weak, and I sway a little bit. "C-Connor?" I mutter, and I fall forward, into his shoulder, everything going black, not able to move, not able to feel anything.


	5. Half Blind...

I open my eyes…well, eye, I suppose. Everything to the right of me is pitch black. I try to look around, but my neck is stiff. I just move my eye instead, and I see I'm back in my room at Todd's house. I notice my room door is open, and I can hear people talking downstairs. It seems like they're trying to talk in whispers, maybe so they don't wake me, but someone seems extremely distressed.

"Half of his face is _gone_ , Hank!" the person whisper-yells, "How can you think that that's fine?!". After a second or two, I realize that it was Connor talking.

My chest fills with what I can only call hope, and I pull myself up, so I'm sitting up in bed. I stare at the door, waiting for Connor to speak again.

"Think of it this way, Connor," Hank says, "He's still  _alive_ ,"

There's a slight silence. "But…" Connor says, "…but…"

"You fixed him once," I can hear Markus say, "I have no doubt that you can do it again,"

I'm now standing, using the bed-post to help me stand, my right leg shaking under my weight. My left arm hangs dead in a sling. Everything to my right is still...out of view. I shuffle my way over to the doorframe, and I use it to help me stand. I look down the hall, and focus on getting to the top of the stairs. I lean against the wall, and shuffle my way down the hall, still listening to the people downstairs.

"Is he awake yet?" another voice says. They're almost unrecognizable, when I realize that I  _have_ heard that voice before. It's Simon.

"I don't know," Connor says, "He shouldn't be, though,"

I try to call out to Connor, but I can't. All I can manage is a slight, wheezy, strangled sound. I just continue to shuffle down the hall, and I get to the top of the stairs. I look down the stairs, and I see Todd standing there.

His arms are crossed, and he looks somewhere between worried and disgusted. He glances up at me, and then stares at me, eyes opened wide. "Uhh…Connor," he says, as he starts up the stairs toward me.

"But, Markus, where am I going to get the parts?" Connor says, "The parts I gave him before are going to break down soon. I need to get parts specially made for his make and model,"

"Connor," Todd says louder, halfway up the stairs, reaching out for me.

"We could go and see Kamski," Markus says, "He may be able to help,"

"Connor!" Todd shouts. He's standing on the stair right below me, and he grabs my forearm.

Connor runs to the bottom of the stares, and he looks at me, almost relieved, but still extremely worried. He walks up the stairs, and moves Todd aside slightly, and grabs my shoulders. "Aaron," he says, quietly, "Good morning,"

"I'd like to come downstairs, please, Connor," I mutter, leaning against the wall, feeling very sluggish.

"Alright," he says, leading me down the stairs very slowly. He leads me over to the couch, and I sit down.

He sits down next to me, and holds my good hand. He looks at me like he's about to cry. Todd stands near the TV, and stares at me, one hand over his mouth. Hank is standing in the kitchen, helping Kara with…something. I can't see them that well. Markus looks at me, and he looks horrified.

"Is…is this what you meant, Connor?" Markus says, staring at me. "He…he can't see…"

"He's right here," Connor says, a tad defensive, "It's rude to talk about someone like they can't hear you,"

"It's fine, Connor," I mutter, "I don't mind. I don't want to talk about it much, so if he talks about me, I don't care,". As I finish speaking, I lay my head on Connor's shoulder, and I close my eye.

Connor sighs, and leans his head on mine. "I'm sorry, Aaron," he says, "I never wanted this to happen,"

"It's not your fault," I say, "It was North's men who shot me,"

"I know," he says, "but…if I hadn't shot first, they wouldn't have,"

I sigh. "It's not your fault," I repeat, "At least, _I_ don't think it is. That's what matters, right?"

Connor sighs.

"And, I think going to Kamski would be the best idea," I say, "He would have some spare parts from making me, or he could at least be able to help repair me,"

"But…" Connor says, "He ay not want to help us. And, I don't trust him,"

"You don't have to trust him," I say, softly, feeling tired, "Just…convince him,". I start to feel my energy slip away, and I lean more into Connor.

"Aaron?" he asks quietly, "Are…are you shutting down again?"

"I…I think," I say, "But…don't worry,"

"I have something to ask you," he says, "If…if it were possible, would you…like to move…move to a different place? Like…an apartment in the city?"

"If…" I start, "If you'll be there, of course,"

He sighs. "Of course I'll be there," he says, "Why I wouldn't I be? But, before we go to the apartment, we need to take you to Kamski, okay?"

I nod, and I sigh as I feel the rest of my energy slip away from me. Everything fades away, and the last thing I remember feeling is Connor kissing my forehead.


End file.
